Durable goods streams such as those derived from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life vehicles (ELV) contain a wide variety of plastics. The stream can be processed to recover acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) plastics.
The properties of products recovered from WEEE or ELV streams depend on the plastic compositions and mixtures of grades. The properties can be modified by the use of additives or by blending with virgin plastics.
The properties of PP recovered from ELV streams are no exception, with the melt flow rate (MFR) based on the mixture of plastic types and grades. In some cases, the MFR of the PP product recovered from ELV streams is lower than what is desired by customers for the material. Because of this, methods are needed to adjust and control the MFR of PP recovered from ELV streams.